America's Metanarrative Examples

America’s Metanarrative
A metanarrative is a story that unifies an entire culture through its comprehensive account of experiences, historical events, and ideals. America’s metanarrative can be summarized by the idea of the American dream. The American dream is the belief that government should protect each person’s opportunity to pursue their own idea of happiness. The consequences of each person’s pursuit contribute to the culture’s metanarrative.
America’s metanarrative began with its first settlers. In 1620 the Mayflower sailed with around 100 passengers from England to America on a voyage that lasted 66 days. Upon their arrival the pilgrims adopted the “Mayflower Compact”. This document established self-governance among the colony, but more importantly it introduced the idea

William Bradford was one of the passengers aboard the Mayflower, and he described this idea of government by consent when he said, “they met and consulted of laws and orders, both for their civil and military government”(Bradford 149). This principle became the foundation for America’s future government and contributed to the development of America’s metanarrative. Alexis de Tocqueville states that “The growth of nations presents something analogous to this: they all bear some marks of their origin; and the circumstances which accompanied their birth and contributed to their rise affect the whole term of their being”(Tocqueville 43). Consent of those governed remains a core value of America today as its citizens strive for the common-good of the country. In his State of the Union address, President Trump said, “It was that same yearning for freedom that